No. 5 Squadron Sunderland NZ4113 'M' in Flight

 

Some nice air to air views of a No. 5 Squadron Sunderland NZ4113 'M' in flight over the Waitemata Harbour and the Auckland harbour bridge in 1944.

No. 5 Squadron RNZAF is a squadron of the Royal New Zealand Air Force formed during November 1941 in Fiji. It remains on active duty and logged 2,300 hours flight time in 2007.

Initially, the squadron was equipped with Vickers Vincents. From the outbreak of hostilities with Japan, the squadron operated the Short Singapore Mk.IIIs (transferred in October 1941 from No. 205 Squadron RAF) mainly on maritime patrol and anti-submarine duties, rescuing more than fifty survivors of ditched aircraft and successfully attacking a Japanese submarine in the process with the elderly Singapores. These types were superseded by Consolidated PBY Catalinas, which aided the air-sea rescue capability. The squadron moved from Fiji in late 1944 to operate between Espiritu Santo and the Admiralty Islands. During this time the later conqueror of Mount Everest, Edmund Hillary, served with the squadron. In November 1944, the squadron moved to Luganville Seaplane Base on Espiritu Santo to carry out anti-submarine patrols and escort duty. In August 1945, the squadron was withdrawn to Fiji.

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1675710325947717/?__cft__[0]=AZV6AaZA39GQ6sgMEarWLAWJyAEAXlLunSv1LPgYwPT7wJlD1HX72gjhxaYaAHdKusJJ-oQQaOP_3i0NaLdWlD6HP0I54NAaKO-JhTuc2zU3OlfRYkk5Pm48GLpGVgl1XFHYbktB2zVXtKqv0a9dhm29Y8tCgIBLqMKxXGdESjfMhgeWu0TJQncjLUWHbiR3qt4&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R

Aerial view of Hiroshima Bomb Damage

View from above of atomic bomb damage to the city of Hiroshima in the Chugoku region of Honshu, Japan in June 1946. On 6th August 1945, during World War II, the atomic bomb 'Little Boy' was dropped on Hiroshima and detonated 600 metres above the city centre causing enormous damage to the city's infrastructure.

 

Source :
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=428755015059995&set=gm.1663022240549859

Fighter-Bomber Mission of Hungarian Fighter Squadron in the Eastern Front

This picture of Messerschmitt Bf 109 F-4 from 1. Ungarische Jabostaffel (1st Hungarian Fighter-Bomber Squadron) was taken during a fighter-bomber sortie. Over the wingtip, Fähnrich (Officer Candidate) Gynes photographs a Russian supply road. The white cross on the black square was introduced in late 1942, as the Hungarian nationality marking previously used (red-white-green arrow) had caused many recognition problems. Note how misaligned the national emblem is! The purpose of the red lines on the wing is not known. In October 1942 the Luftwaffe command agreed to equip Hungarian fighter units with the Messerschmitt Bf 109. The first eight pilots of the Hungarian 1/1 Fighter Squadron under Oberleutnant Banlaky were given conversion training by I.Gruppe / Jagdgeschwader 52 (JG 52) at the Stary Oskol airfield in mid-October. The Hungarian flew their first combat sorties after just a few days of training, using six second-hand Bf 109 F-4s that had been transferred to the Hungarian Air Force. Beginning on 25 October, the squadron regularly flew combat operations as part of I./JG 52. The Hungarians were constantly in action, despite snow in early November. Operating from Urasovo, they mainly flew fighter-bomber missions against Russian units that had broken through the Italian held-sector of the front. Railway lines were also popular targets. In mid-November snow and strong winds temporarily brought operations to a halt. The weather improved at the end of November, and the Hungarian squadron, which the Germans had by then designated as 1. Ungarische Jabostaffel (1st Hungarian Fighter-Bomber Squadron) resumed its ground attack missions. On 20 December 1942 the squadron had eight Bf 109 F-4 fighters on strength. At the end of December, after 140 mainly close-support missions, the squadron was withdrawn from the front and replaced by Staffel 5/1 and 5/2. The pilots of these two units had to be retrained too. Staffel 5/2, commanded by Hauptmann Heppe, used three Bf 109 F-4s bearing the aircraft codes V- + 08, V0 + 10 and V- + 12. The photograph presented here were taken during Staffel 5/2’s conversion training. Staffel 5/1 continued training through all of January 1943, several times having to hastily abandoned airfields after Russian forces broke throught the lines. On 20 January the Staffel was at the Uman airfield. At the beginning of April Staffel 5/1 was combined with Gruppenstab 5/1 at Kharkov-South. In April the Staffel finally went into action, flying fighter-bomber missions with I./JG 52 commanded by Hauptmann Horst-Günther von Fassong

Source :
 "Luftwaffe im Focus", Spezial No.1 - 2003

American Warships at Ulithi Atoll

Vast array of American warships just offshore of naval base on Mogmog Island in the Ulithi Atoll, part of the Caroline Islands, 1 January 1945. Ulithi Atoll itself are home to the 3rd Fleet in late 1944. The land in the foreground is one of several depot islands surrounding the anchorage. After World War II many battleships were intentionally sunk rather than taken elsewhere to disassemble. These iron bohemoths lie at the bottom of the Atoll and as they rust their iron content leaks into the seawater changing the very chemistry of the nutrient-poor tropical waters. The occupation of Ulithi by US Naval Fleets during the war changed the Islanders’ way of life dramatically. Entire islands were razed to the ground to make room for Allied Troops. Imported food, culture and language changed the traditional ways of these remote islands. After the war a surplus of boats, fuel, and new technologies like spear-guns radically altered the effectiveness of the Islanders’ fishing techniques.

Source:
http://ulithimarineconservation.ucsc.edu/?page_id=435

Photographers Standing in front of Pappy's Pram

 US Army Air Force Aerial Photographers standing in front of "Pappy's Pram", a B-26B-25-MA Marauder bomber (s/n 41-31802) of 450th Bombardment Squadron / 322nd Bombardment Group / 9th Airforce at the base. They have been on total of 50 missions since operations began during World War II. From left to right: St. James Hinkle (VA), Sgt. Robert Hammerberg (IL), Sgt. Frank Udovich (WI), Sgt. CharlesA. Smith (TX), and St. Wilbur DeGroff (WI). Photo by Frank Scherschel

Source:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life/27e9e8a6fd53f768.html

German Aircraft Over Africa

German aircraft over Africa. The white edges around the lake below indicated that they were actually a salt lake. Photo taken by General Erwin Rommel during his Campaign in North Africa, 1941

Source:
http://www.cybermodeler.com/history/germany/rommel.shtml

German War Machines in the North African Desert

German war machines in the North African desert. The picture was taken by General Erwin Rommel, commander of the Afrikakorps, from his Fieseler Fi 156 "Storch" during his reconnaisance mission to the front

Source:
http://www.cybermodeler.com/history/germany/rommel.shtml